The business services design team had no shared product vision or research practice. Design files were fragmented, and features were added in isolation. Over almost a year, I improved purchasing journeys and the experience within services, and helped launch three new services.
My role
I worked as a product designer across two teams focused on selling non-banking services through web and mobile banking, improving existing services and launching new ones. I partnered with the product manager and business analyst to map user journeys.
The wider design team included an art director, two other product designers and an intern. Each designer worked with a dedicated product team; we collaborated on presentations and keeping design files current.
>20 tests
conducted during my time on the team
2 channels
Web and mobile
12 products
improved
3 services
launched with the team
VTB
VTB Business offers entrepreneurs more than ten services, including accounting, individual and company checks, and online healthcare. We needed to design how each service was purchased and used, and create a shared marketplace to help customers discover the full range. Its goals were to increase awareness and conversion.
My areas of work
Relaunch a service
Tested new entry points, collected feedback and redesigned the service for a new partner.
Launch a new service
Designed the Dossier service from scratch, secured approval and handed it over for development.
Bundled subscriptions
A step towards a shared basket for non-banking services.
Subscription management
Added essential features to the subscription management page to support sales.
The service marketplace in web and mobile banking:
Service activation journeys in web and mobile banking:
Number of services
Market context
In 2024, VTB offered 36 non-banking services, second only to Sber by number of services.
Product category
VTB
Sber
Tinkoff
MTS Bank
Legal services
Procurement
Accounting
Sales
Insurance
Logistics
HR services
Commerce
Marketing
Market analytics
IT
Telecom
Competitor analysis
I completed competitors' journeys myself and reviewed VTB's existing research.
Findings
A seamless experience
Customers value using services within banking, without switching to external products.
Transparency
Service landing pages need clear, detailed explanations of what is included.
A trial period
Short trials were the most promising sales approach for our users.
Control
Users need to know how to cancel. Uncertainty about cancellation is a major barrier to subscribing.
User profile
The marketing team had researched the target audience.
60%
of business platform users activate non-banking services
42%
of entrepreneurs give employees access to online banking
50%
of decisions to activate a service are made by employees
In-depth interviews
I conducted over ten in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs to understand their need for non-banking services. The interviews confirmed that demand existed.
I don't want to manage the accounting myself; that's why I employ an accountant. She asked for 1C access and works there. I'm hesitant to add services when I don't understand how to cancel them.
Valera
Director at Smart Clothing
I use Alfa's services and like them. I've given one manager access to run individual and company checks, and delegated accounting to another manager.
Ilya
Director of a gaming club chain
Medium-sized businesses
VTB Business users are predominantly owners of medium-sized companies with substantial turnover.
Delegation
Entrepreneurs want to delegate as much as possible. Employees are often the people actually using business services.
A trial period
Short trials were the most promising sales approach for our users.
New service Individual background checks
A service within VTB Business for checking individuals and obtaining reports on bankruptcy, wanted-person status and other indicators.
Timeline
Two months for design, research and approvals.
Team
Product manager, business analyst, frontend developer and me as product designer.
Users
VTB Business platform users
Design system
Built entirely with VTB's internal design system.
Entry points
Marketplace
Context
The non-banking marketplace mainly offers partner services that customers purchase within VTB, then use on external partner websites. Individual Background Checks was conceived as a VTB product that customers could use without leaving the banking platform.
Planned measures included landing page visits, progression to plan selection, service activations and ARPU (average revenue per user).
Process
Market research
There were no Figma files or product metrics. The market had many crypto wallets, but few offered a strong experience.
User needs research
There were no Figma files or product metrics. The market had many crypto wallets, but few offered a strong experience.
Research the market and existing app
Competitors offered useful patterns, while reviews of our app helped identify unmet needs. Together, these informed a new solution.
Design screens, plan releases and develop monetisation
I introduced features gradually, based on priority. It was essential to keep the interface familiar to existing users.
Design an expanded web version
Alongside the mobile app, I designed the web version, drawing on established investment platform patterns.
Review implementation and analyse mobile updates
Design and development ran in parallel. We defined the logic together and maintained a release log, including user feedback.
Build the web version
The mobile app needed a web counterpart. This meant designing from scratch while keeping mobile and browser updates aligned.
More at an interview
The project is covered by a pre-release NDA. I can discuss further details in an interview where permitted by the confidentiality agreement.
Other work
Building a research culture
Design decisions were often met with scepticism, and research was uncommon. Formal studies took a long time to approve, so I recruited a participant group and introduced regular prototype testing.
Presentations
Customer communications and internal reporting presentations were also part of the design team's work.